• Cambridge museum to return 116 Benin Bronzes to Nigeria

• Artifacts looted by British troops in 1897

• European nations accelerate restitution of colonial-era African artifacts

The Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology at the University of Cambridge said on Feb. 8 it will return 116 artifacts from the former Benin Kingdom to Nigeria, according to a statement on its website. The kingdom was based in what is now southwestern Nigeria and dates back to around the 11th century.

The decision follows a restitution request submitted by Nigeria in 2022. It represents a “They are embodiments of the spirit, pride, and dignity of the Benin people,” said Olugbile Holloway, director general of Nigeria's National Commission for Museums and Monuments.

Looted by British troops in 1897, the 116 objects, widely known as the Benin Bronzes, will return 129 years after they were taken. They will be housed at the museum and the Royal Palace of the Oba in Benin City, the capital of Edo State.

The collection includes bronze, ivory and wooden objects. TV5MONDE reported that Cambridge’s anthropology museum will retain nearly 400 items from the Benin Kingdom. Seventeen of the returned pieces will remain in Cambridge on loan for research and teaching.

A continuing restitution movement

Over the past decade, several European countries have stepped up efforts to return looted African artifacts through both symbolic gestures and large-scale transfers. The process reflects a broader push for historical justice and the recovery of cultural heritage.

Momentum accelerated in 2018 with the Sarr-Savoy report, titled Report on the Restitution of African Cultural Heritage: Toward a New Relational Ethics. Written by Senegalese economist Felwine Sarr and French art historian Bénédicte Savoy, it called for the large-scale return of African works held in French museums, particularly those acquired during the colonial period.

In November 2021, France returned 26 royal treasures looted from Abomey in 1892 to Benin. In 2022, Germany pledged to return looted works during an official visit to Nigeria.

“It was clear that we wanted a solution. The agreement signed at the end of August formalizes the transfer of ownership of more than 500 Benin bronzes in our possession to Nigeria. And 168 objects will remain here in Berlin as long-term loans,” Hermann Parzinger, president of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, said at the time.

Belgium, the Netherlands and Austria have also moved forward with restitutions. Some 84,000 objects, about two-thirds of the collection at the Tervuren museum near Brussels, are slated for return to the Democratic Republic of Congo. More recently, the Netherlands decided to return more than 100 Benin bronzes previously held at the Wereldmuseum in Leiden.

After the return: infrastructure and management

The return of artifacts looted or exported during the colonial period poses a practical challenge for African countries: how to preserve and manage them.

Adequate conservation infrastructure requires significant funding, which governments may struggle to provide. Beyond preservation, countries face the task of integrating the objects into broader cultural and economic development strategies.

The republic of Benin is often cited as a regional example in managing restituted art. The Museum of the Epic of the Amazons and Kings of Danxomè, scheduled to open in 2027 in Abomey, reflects that approach.

Ubrick F. Quenum